Brutti Ma Buoni - My Trials and Tribulations

In November when I was in Rome L and I had the most magnificent cookies called brutti ma buoni - literally ugly but good. I have tried several times now to recreate them and are consistently turning out far more brutti than buoni. I shall persevere!!

Both attempts had good and bad points. The first recipe I found was, I now believe, miswritten. No way one egg white was enough so I did some guesstimating and randomly threw in a few more egg whites. I also went the whole nine yards with roasting whole hazelnuts then putting them through a food processor with confectioner's sugar.

I'm sure it was an ingredient  proportional issue but these baked flatter than a pancake. Brutti ma buoni should be puffy and round, kind of like a coconut macaroon. Sans the coconut.They were both brutti and buoni but brutti in a completely different way than they should have been. But wow did they taste good.

For my second batch I used a completely different recipe. I also skipped a step and used prepulverized hazelnuts that I found at Carrefour. Even the method with these cookies was much different and involved hand whisking the egg whites and sugar in a double boiler-which I think made a big difference in how the cookie turned out.

I knew as soon as I scooped these onto the cookie sheet that I had a better chance this time of making them look right. The meringue was fluffier and the raw dough stayed put instead of migrating into the surrounding cookies.

This recipe also called for a significantly less amount of hazelnuts so that explains why they may have looked slightly better (well, better = the way they're supposed to) but did not have the big hazelnut flavor that the first batch did. I also think I let them bake like two minutes longer than they needed. My new oven and I are still learning how to get along.

So the first batch wins for taste but the second sort of wins for looks. I think my next attempt will be with the below recipe which is the one I used for the second batch but with some tweaks.  When made correctly these cookies are amazing and totally worth all this trial and error to get right!

Brutti ma buoni

Ingredients:

• 200 grams whole hazelnuts
• 1 cup (200 grams) sugar
• 4 large egg whites
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 3 Tbs (30 grams) flour

Method:

1.  Preheat oven to 350 F/177 C and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Place the hazelnuts on the baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes (or until fragrant) and skins begin to flake. Remove and place on a clean dish towel. Roll up the towel and let them steam for about 10 minutes then rub the (still in the towel) briskly to remove the skins. Let them cool completely then coarsely chop (or run through a food processor).
2. In a heatproof bowl placed over a shallow pan of simmering water combine the sugar and egg whites whisking constantly until opaque in color.
3. Remove from heat and beat with a hand mixer until thick and glossy. Beat in the vanilla then fold in the flour and chopped nuts.
4. Place heaping tablespoonsful on a parchment lined cookie sheet and bake for 12-ish minutes then check and bake more or not.

These are best the day of but will keep for a day or two in an airtight container. 

Che Bellisima-The Food of Rome

Rome isn't all just churches and the remnants of ancient worlds. Like many cities with seeming impossibly long histories (like Istanbul, Cairo, Amman, etc.) the old stands flush alongside the new. So much of what has allowed these places to survive in Rome is the long history of repurposing.

Castel Sant'Angelo

Bridge over the Tiber Castel Sant'Angelo (behind), St. Peter's (R)

Altare della Patria

The Castel Sant'Angelo, completed in 139 AD, was originally a mausoleum for Emperor Hadrian and his family and later emperors. In the 5th century it was converted to a military fortress and sadly much of the original treasures and the ashes were lost to Visigoths (there's something so satisfying abut the 'Visigoth') in the 400s. It wasn't until the 14th century that it because a Papal refuge, residence, and even prison. Now it's a museum.

Not quite so respectful to the city's history is the 1925 AD Altare della Patria, also known as the Monumento Nazionale a Vittorio Emanuele II, and less respectfully, the Wedding Cake. Built to commemorate the unification of Italy but it's first king (Victor Emmanuel) the base houses the Museum of Italian Unification and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier with an eternal flame. As the construction of this rather ostentatious thing destroyed a large part of the Capitoline Hill and leveled a medieval neighborhood it's not the most beloved site by Romans.

One way to explore a city is to just wander and get lost and I have always been a proponent of that method. Another favorite method: food tours. L and I discovered Trastevere that way with Eating Italy. I would be happy to go back to Rome and do nothing but Eating Italy's tours.

Da Enzo

We met our guide on the Isola Tiberina and crossed into Trastevere to the first of our seven stops. At Da Enzo we were greeted by the owners and a glass of prosecco. Here we had burrata, a fresh (and not easy to find) cheese made from mozzarella and cream. The outer shell is solid mozzarella but the inside is a mix of cream and mozzarella. For my DC peeps-sometimes Dino in Cleveland Park has this. We also the most amazing artichoke I've ever eaten. I can't remember the type of artichoke but basically all the do to it is pop it in peanut oil for a couple seconds then sprinkle it with salt.

Spirito di Vino

Spirito di Vino

Spirito di Vino

While I would happily have just stayed at Da Enzo for the entire evening I'm glad I resisted the temptation because the next stop was not to be missed. Spirito di Vino not only serves up amazing wine and food made from traditional, Roman recipes that date back to the emperors, the building itself is older, OLDER than the Colosseum. Here we ate pork cooked in red wine, apples, onion, honey, vinegar, and spices from a recipe created by Julius Caesar's chef. Whaat?! Yes.

Innocenti

From there we wandered Trastevere's charming and picturesque streets to Innocenti where this family has been baking its cookies since 1920. We were offered a section of biscotti but I believe the resounding favorite was the brutti ma buoni (middle above). These cookies, translated as 'ugly but good' are a meringue hazelnut cookie that are stupid good. Since we lack not at all for hazelnuts in Turkey I may try my hand at making these.

Antica Norcineria

After leaving Innocenti we had a longish walk of about 10 minutes for which I think we were all pretty grateful. We were feeling a bit on the rolly polly side and we weren't even halfway through the tour! Eventually we came to Antica Norcineria, a delicatessen offering amazing cheeses including Parmesan and Peccorino Romano and the city's best porchetta. I deeply love the description of porchetta: a savory, fatty, moist, boneless pork roast. the body of the pig is deboned, arranged carefully with layers of stuffing, meat, fat, and skin then rolled, spitted, and roasted for hours over wood. Every evening the family who owns Antica Norcineria prepares its porchetta which is then sent out for the roasting so its ready to be sold the next morning.

I asked if I could marry into the family but was told there were no sons of any age. Maybe they'll adopt me.

I Suppli

When it looked like things couldn't get any better we arrived at our next stop, I Suppli for Italian street food favorites suppli and pizza. Suppli are a balls of rice that's been mixed with tomato sauce, stuff with cheese, and deep fried. What can go wrong there?! We also had squares of Pizza Marinara which was just pizza with sauce, no toppings. I say 'just' but as soon as I tasted the marinara sauce with its perfect balance of biting garlic and sweet oregano all I wanted to do was dive into a vat of it and eat my way out.

Enoteca Ferrara

At this point, even I was getting pretty full but we still had actual dinner to go!At Enoteca Ferrara we were treated to a dinner or hand-made gnocchi, spinach and ricotta ravioli, and tonarelli cacio e pepe which is the fist pasta dish ever made. It was also my favorite of three.

How we managed to put away more pasta and wine is a little beyond me stuffed as we all already were. However there was no question of not being able to indulge in some gelato at the evening's last stop: Fatamorgana. It was here that I had one of the most interesting gelatos ever which I will try to recreate as soon as I can find enough fresh basil. Yes...basil. Fatamorgana carries a lot of the classic flavors you find anywhere else but they have also their own creations like: black cherry and beer, chestnut and myrtle, banana and lime, chocolate wasabi, Gorgonzola, cream of lavender and chamomile...the list goes on. However my favorite was the basil honey walnut. It was a revelation. Unfortunately I have no picture because I gobbled it down too quickly.

So basically...take at least one Eating Italy tour!

It's Been a Long Time, Michigan

Since moving to Turkey I have been back to the States, once briefly last summer for a baptism. I have not, however, been back to Michigan to see my family. As a visit seemed due, I was again being given the privileged of being a Godmother, and my Mom's family was having a very belated Christmas party, I was able to kill birds with this visit.

Knowing that ticket prices would soon get even more ridiculous with summer upon us, I bought my ticket back in May. In order to get something not horribly expensive I had to give up the dream of taking the direct flight to Chicago, Newark, or Baltimore on Turkish Airlines and instead bit the bullet with a United flight that included not one but two layovers. However for the $500 price difference I was willing to put up with United.

For reasons beyond my ken, the guy who checked me in at Ataturk only checked my bag to Frankfurt (layover numero uno) and couldn't be bothered to tell me why; in English or in Turkish. Two hours is enough time to transit normally through Frankfurt but to go through immigration, pick up my bag, re check in, go back through immigration and security, AND get to the gate the hour before the flight stupid American airlines insist on? Naturally I had to wait ages for my bag. I haven't actually checked into a flight in Frankfurt for some 14 years-and the airport has changed a bit since. After 10 minutes of trying to find the United counter (counter 501 fyi) I finally found someone who worked there and asked. At least my German got a pretty decent workout that day. With just over an hour to go at this point I wasn't sure they'd even let me check in but everything seemed to be smooth sailing once I found the counter. Immigration and security were a breeze. I love German efficiency. Smooth sailing until I was in my seat that is! It was a full flight of course so when someone came by saying that my seat was his (econ plus, bulkhead, aisle for which I paid extra) I was ready to throw down to keep it. Until the flight attendant, after taking our tickets and doing whatever it is they do, beckoned me forward. Forward. I was in the first row of econ so there was nothing ahead of us except for business class. No one, especially on United, ever actually gets bumped to business. But it happened to me! It really was smooth sailing after that!

My little brother has been my airport pick up since I left Michigan 12 years ago. We laughed this time as I think it was the first time I've ever landed in daylight. My DC/Baltimore flights never got me in earlier than 11PM. On our way to the 'ole homestead we continued our tradition of a stop in at Meijer. Meijer is the greatest store ever and I feel sorry for all the states that don't have them. Think Super Target/Walmart but BETTER. And doing it long before those stores ever got the idea. I had been compiling a shopping list of American foods I wanted to bring back to Turkey and picked them all up there: Mac & Cheese (7 boxes), Twinkies, fajita mix, Cabot Seriously Sharp white cheddar (2), asiago, bacon (2 lbs), smokey link breakfast sausages (2 pkgs), Crystal Light lemonade, oatmeal, chocolate chips, and lemon bar mix (2). Before leaving I also added orange slices, Double Stuff Oreos (thanks Jenn!), and four bottles of wine from my collection to the mix.

In preparation for the (belated) family Christmas party my mom baked and frosted a bunch of sugar cookies that she wanted to decorate with food markers. I was razzing her for making them all heart-shaped and thought it limited the decorating possibilities. She told me that if I wanted to decorate them I could do anything I wanted with them. I could write "Go to Hell" on all of them if I wanted. So when she left to pick up my sister from the airport I tool her at her word.

She was less than pleased to see it when my brother texted her a picture and said she hoped I were hungry because I would have to eat all the cookies I did that to. I don't like sugar cookies. So with some brilliant ideas from my brother and dad I turned them all into heart-related puns and illustrations.

You give me heart burn

Heart beat

It was nice getting to see my family but within an hour of the party I remembered how exhausting it is to be around them all! Both my parents have pretty typically poor Catholic huge families and my mom's are all creative types with equally huge personalities. And because I'm as bad at mingling with my own family as I am with anyone else I didn't get to spend as much time with some of them as I'd have liked but it was still nice to see everyone. I did get a fair amount of time with a couple of my favorite younger cousins. Amanda and David made me dinner one night: flat bread with pulled pork in a red wine, blackberry jam, blackberry balsamic sauce with roasted fennel and prosciutto wrapped asparagus on the side. Homemade (because with Amanda everything is always homemade) brownies and coffee ice cream for dessert. Amazing. Thanks to Amanda's cheese plate, my mom who came with me (as I cannot be trusted to drive) is now a convert to the religion that is Cheese.

Heart attack

Braveheart

Speaking of food...I don't think I stopped eating the whole week. And honestly my clothes felt a little tight when I got home! My brother made chicken fajitas for me. His are so good. He cooks the meat, onions, and peppers all together and puts cheese right in the mix to make it gooey goodness. My mom mixed up a big batch of chicken and cheese for sandwiches-a family thing we've been eating since as long as I can remember. My dad roasted two big pork shoulders for the family party so there was pork then and lots of leftovers. I also put away some Hudsonville ice cream; a local product you can really only find in West MI which is a huge shame because they make THE best ice cream. Truly. It's not that Turkish food isn't good because it is! But all Turkish all the time gets a little boring.

Beheading of Saint Valentine

Braveheart

Sick at heart/Purple Heart

My bff since the second grade had the most beautiful twins a few months ago and asked me to be Godmother to her son. She kindly arranged the baptism for the weekend I was in MI so I could actually be there for it. The baptism was lovely and the twins were really well behaved. What I most enjoyed though was being able to catch up with my girlfriend's family! I GChat on the occasion with her brother but haven't seen her parents in years. She combined the baptism with a belated birthday party for her 3 year old so Auntie Andrea  got to watch my honorary niece (who associates me with Merida from Disney's Brave so, I'm cool) open her presents. Which consisted of a bizarre combination of princessy things and dinosaurs. Both interests courtesy of her uncle. I can't wait to see what he introduces her to next! Ballroom dancing and monster trucks?

Open heart surgery

Heart of Darkness

It was a good trip home. Not the least because they had a cold front so the weather was in the 70s (F)! which was a majorly nice change from the hot and humid we've been having in Istanbul. My sister came from Florida for a few days so this was the first time in four-five years we've all been together. Who knows when the next time might be, but until then; stay Pure, Michigan!

Fall Baking

Fall is that time of year when I both really want to diet so whatever hibernation weight I put on won't be as noticeable, and when I really want to bake. There are just so many great fall dessert possibilities! I meant to blog about one such recipe last fall and then forgot to take pictures and figured there was little point. But I made it again a few weeks ago and remembered the pictures this time!

I love all fruit but there's nothing better than apples in the fall

One of my many uncles owns a working apple, pear, and peach orchard so we always had free fruit when I was growing up. When I moved I was horrified to discover how much produce costs! It was the bushel fulls of both apples and pears one of my cousins brought to my parents' that inspired my recipe from last year. I've always loved crumble recipes. When I was a kid my mom always made more of the crumble than necessary because I'd eat it out of the bowel. While I was visiting Michigan last winter I wanted to make an apple crumble but when I saw the Bosc pears my cousins brought over I thought, hey why not apple pear?

Jazzed up crumble mixture

Apples, pears, pecans, oh my!

It was a good idea. Apple pear pecan crumble was what I ate for breakfast just about the entire week I was there.And not so bad for breakfast either. I mean, there's fruit and oatmeal so it practically is a breakfast food.

Ready to bake!

With fresh whipped cream, mmmm...

Of course you cannot have fall without pumpkin! Not just for Thanksgiving! In fact I'm not doing much of anything with pumpkin for Thanksgiving so I decided to make some pumpkin cookies. And since I'm far, far too lazy to actually bake a pumpkin, scrape it out, and puree it, I used canned pumpkin; Libby brand.

Libby, the only name in canned pumpkin

More jazzed up spices!

Every time I make these I have to call my mom for the recipe. I'm glad she at least wrote it down when she did. It's actually a recipe from Libby, but good luck finding it on the label now! Now it's all pumpkin pie, pie crust, and pumpkin cream cheese logs.

Alternate the dry and wet ingredients

Mmm, nummy

These are very cake-like cookies so when making the batter you have to alternate mixing the dry and wet ingredients like you would a cake. They also take a little longer to bake than your standard cookie. And don't try stacking them on top of each other unless you like multiple layered cookies!

Ready for the oven!

There's just something about fall baking that's so much homier than summer baking. I guess it's the way my apartment gets extra warm, especially if I forget to turn off the oven for seven hours like I did a few weeks ago...and of course fall ingredients and spices like cinnamon, clove, and nutmeg just smell so inviting and warm.

Mmmm cookies!

Even more cookies!

Eating warm baked goods doesn't hurt either!

Recipes

Apple Pear Crumble

• 2 tart-ish apples
• 3 pears (I like Bosc) 
• pecans
• 1 1/2 C brown sugar
• 1 C flour
• 1 C oatmeal
• 2/3 C melted butter
• cinnamon
• nutmeg
• clove

Peel and chop the apples and pears then mix them with the pecans and set aside.

In a separate bowel, mix the dry ingredients then pour the melted butter over everything and mix until the entire mixture is wet. Press roughly 2/3 of the mixture into a greased 9x13 pan, add the fruit mix, and top with remaining crumble.

Bake at 350 for 30-ish minutes and/or until the crumbly bits on top turn a nice golden brown. Serve with whipped cream or ice cream. Cinnamon ice cream makes a nice addition!

Pumpkin Cookies

• 2 C flour
• 1 C oatmeal
• 1 t baking soda
• 1 t cinnamon
• 1/2 t salt
• 1 C butter, room temp
• 1 C brown sugar
• 1 C sugar
• 1 egg slightly beaten
• 1 t vanilla
• 1 C pureed pumpkin

First mix the five dry ingredients in a bowel. The recipe, as you see, only calls for cinnamon but I think that's kind of bogus. I added not only nutmeg and clove but also ground vanilla bean. It's up to you what you want to do here. You could even use pumpkin pie spice if you've mind to.

Cream together the butter and sugars, then add the egg and vanilla. Then, alternating the dry ingredients with the pumpkin (beginning and ending with the dry).

Bake at 350 for, my mom said 20-25 minutes but in my gas oven they really only needed 18. 

And enjoy!